Jefferson County, Illinois - Chapter 6 (1 of 2 so headed), 1883 (part 1 of 2)

Members Of The Bar, Etc., Etc

TO write a history of the bench and bar of this or any other place is to write the history of that department which absolutely guarantees the freedom and safety of our government. The perpetuity of our liberties depends more upon an honest and intelligent judiciary than upon anything else, and to ac- complish the noble purposes for which it is created it must be supported by an honest and intelligent bar. It is by the courts of the land and the powers in them vested that criminals are apprehended and punished; it is through them that all wrongs are redressed; it is by them that the wrongly imprisoned are given th(>ir liberty; it is through them that the minister is permitted to occupy his pulpit. In fact, our government could not exist without its judiciary. It is the "jewel that from the cluster riven woiild leave all a dark and hopeless chaos." Localizing, we can say that Mount Vernon and Jefferson County may well be termed the seat of justice and the home of Judges. Since 1848, the Supreme Court has been located here, during which time the State has spent large sums of money in a building and its equipment. The library here is the largest and most valuable in the State. There is nothing written upon the law that has passed to the dignity of authority that may not be found here, and few finer collections can be found in the United States. Perhaps few towns of its size can boast of more Judges taken from its bar than can Mount Vernon. So marked has this been that it has almost became a proverb to say " Mount Vernon, the home of Judges." Although the county had been organized for fifteen years before we had a resident lawyer, the bar here has ever since stood high in line with the profession of the State. Since 1864, the Mount Vernon bar has been represented upon the bench. In that year, the Hon. James M. Pollock was elected from this county. He was succeeded by Tanner, and he by Casey, the present incumbent. Mount Vernon has, since the county's organization, furnished Baugh and Scales, in addition to those of later date already mentioned.

Supreme Court. - Under the Constitution of 1848, the State was divided into three grand divisions, the people in each division electing one Judge of the Supreme Court. The divisions were known as the First, Second and Third: this county was placed in the First, and after a strong and bitter struggle. Mount Vernon was selected as the seat of the court for the First Grand Division, which, through biennial tights, she has continued to retain until the present.

The first term of the court held in this place convened in December, 1848, with Samuel H. Treat, Chief Justice, and J. D. Caton and Lyman Trumbull, Associates; Finny D. Preston, Clerk. There were seventeen cases on the docket. The first case WHS Meridith Hawkins vs. Silas N. Berry, error to Franklin. Jefferson County furnished one case, William B. Thorn against Joel F. AVatson, administrator of the estate of James Ham. Thorn had a claim against the estate which Watson thought had been filed too late, and consequently barred by the statutes. Watson defeated him in the lower courts and Thorn took it up and was again beaten. The second term convened in November, 1849, with twenty-three cases, one from this county. Governor, etc., vs. E. H. Ridgway et al., Eidgway being successful. The court remained the same until November, 1853, when Trumbull resigneil and Scates was made his successor.

In November, 1854, Preston resigned as Clerk and Maj. Noah Johnston was appointed by the court to succeed him In 1855. Treat resigned and O. C. Skinner was elected in his stead, and Scates became Chief Justice.

In 1857, Skinner resigned and Pinkney H. Walker was elected, since which time he has been regularly re-elected, and is at^present one of the Judges. In January, 1864, Caton resigned, and Corydon Beckwith was appointed and served until June of the same year, when Charles B. Lawrence was elected. By the constitution of 1870, the judicial de partment of the State was reconstructed, ththree Grand Divisions retained, but tht^ Court increased to seven Judges, instead of thref. The State was divided into seven districts and one Judge elected from eacti district. After the election under this system, the court consisted of Lawrence, Walk er, Breeze, Thornton, Seates, Sheldon and McAllister, and it is no reflection to say that at no time since the organisation of the court was it ever stronger. Its opinions were cited and recognized during this period as of the first of American authorities. In 1873, Alfred M. Craig succeeded Judge Lawrence and John Schotield went on in the place of Thornton. In December, 1875, T. Lyle Dickey succeeded McAllister, who resigned.

June 28, 1878, Judge Breeze died and David J. Baker was appointed to succeed him by the Governor, and on the 2d of June, 1879, John H. Mulkey was elected to succeed Baker, since which time there has been no change, leaving the court now consisting of Sheldon, Schotield, Craig, Dickey, Walker, Scott and Mulkey. June 3, 1867. R. A. D. Wilbanks was elected Clerk, succeeding Maj. Johnston, and so continued until November, 1878, when he was in turn succeeded by J. O. Chance, the present incumbent. From 1848 until November, 1853, the court met in the old Odd Fellows Hall on Main street, paying an annual rent of $75. From November, 1853, until the court house was completed in about 1856, it met in the Masonic Hall, over Joel Pace's store, at the same rent paid the Odd Fellows. -

In 1854, an appropriation was obtained from the Legislature of §0,000 for the building of a court house. T. B. Tanner, Maj. Johnston, Zadok Casey, William J. Stephens and Dr. John N. Johnson were appointed Commissioners to take charge of the building and superintend its construction. Plans were obtained, and it was found that the fund was iusuflBcient, but finally parties in St. Louis were found who contracted to inclose it for the money, which was done, and in 1854, T. B. Tanner, who had been elected a member of the Legislature, obtained an additional appropriation of $10,000, with which the building was completed accordintr to the original design. In 1874, an additional appropriation was obtained for the purpose of remodeling the building, and the nor^h and south wings were added, and the building left in its present condition, an oi-nament to the county and a credit to the State.

Judge Sidney Breeze. - Illinois has produced some very great men - men whom all the world has been proud to honor - men who will go down in the national history, yes, in the history of the world, as truly gre<it. In wai', the Illinois' soldiers are said to be the gi-eatest now living; in State-craft we sent Douglas and Lincoln-men prominent in statesmanship, men to whom the world's history must accord befitting space. But, great as they are, none have been greater in their particular line than has Judge Breeze in his - a jurist quoted in every civilized country, logical, analytical, just and blunt, severe, yet impartial. Judge Breeze was born in New York on the 15th day of July, 1800 - born at the beginning of the most brilliant century the world ever saw - born fitted and destined to bear a most prominent part in the many overshadowing achievements of the world's history. He received a classical education at Union College, New York, and at a very early age started with the star of empire westward. The year 1818 found Judge Breeze at Illinois' first capital, Kaskaskia, as Assistant Secretary of State to Elias Kent Kam - his old friend. During this employment, the State capital was removed to Yandalia. The responsibilty of removing the Secretary's office was left to Judge Breeze; he accomplished the task with

In 1822, he was appointed State's Attorney; in 1827, he was made United States DiMtrict Attorney for Illinois by President John Q. Adams. In 1831, he published Breeze's Reports, to be found in every well-appointed law library, and the first book ever published in Illinois. In 1835, he first went ujion the bench as Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit. In 1842, he was elected to the United State Senate and served as such for six years. His career in the Senate was not barren of results. Then Clay, Webster, Benton and Calhoun were there. In the forum c>r in the committee. Senator Breeze ranked with those giants.

While his mind, perhaps, was not employed in the more active and exciting elements of politics and State craft, yet he was never idle, his giant intellect reached out into the great unknown future; he read its hidden pages; he saw the future wants of this then young republic; he saw a few years in the distance the great chains of iron that were to bind this continent into indissoluble union; he saw the rapid strides of commerce; he realized its demands. He saw that in the great and rich valleys and prairies of the West was to spring the attributes of prosperity and wealth to this Government. He saw the great agricultural districts bending beneath the rich harvests, asking for transportation. 'Twas then his practical sagacity and comprehensive mind discovered and brought for the first time to the light of the nation the necessity of railroad connection between the Pacific and the Atlantic. He availed himself of his opportunity as Chairman of the Committee on Public Lands in the United States Senate in 1840, elaborated in detail and brought in the first report ever made, advocating and anticipating the construction of the Pacific Railroad twenty-three years in advance of its commencement. His friends were incredulous; his enemies thought, for the time, at least, that he had, by his own blunder, succeeded in throwing ridicule on himself. But no; he only lived as many great men before his time.

It has so happened that no man has left to his age or his country a more enduring monument by which he is to be known to posterity. This one act, had he done no other, would hand him down in history as long as the whistle of the engine and the rumbling of the cars are heard ujion oiu" great plains. But this was not all that Judge Breeze did in the Senate. He was a continual worker for the development of his adopted State and the resources of the nation, but to write of his activities and public services while in the Senate would of itself make a volume. The building of the Illinois Central Railroad was under consideration while he was in the Senate, and in Judge Breeze that enterprise found a strong and valuable champion.

He was defeated in 1848 for reelection to the Senate by the hero of Cerro Gordo, Gen. Shields, who had just returned from the Mexican war, covered all over with glory. The military sentiment ran riot, as it has many times before and since, and a greai mind was forced to retire for the advancement of one who, while brilliant and brave on the field, yet had no qualification to represent the rising State of Illinois in the nation's councils. And again we have illustrated the senitmeut, "Put a man on a charger, call him a warrior, and the American people are ready to blindly follow him they know not whither, neither do they care; so long as the shouts of the ' General ' are heard they go." A few military gentlemen have been called to the White House from the same sentit ment, and the experiment has in almost every instance shown the folly of such a selection. The better the soldier, the poorer the statesman. But we are digressing. After his retirement from the Senate, Judge Breeze remained in private life until 1850, when he was elected to the Seventh General Assembly, of which he was elected Speaker of the Lower House, defeating Gov. Z. Casey of this county. In June, 1855, he was again elected Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit, and from this time it may be said he began that course of life which has handed him down as the greatest jurist this State has ever produced, and the peer of any in the nation. This marked his final retirement from politics, not, perhaps, from his own inclination, for he early evinced a strong desire for political preferment, and for years cherished his political aspirations, but his defeat by Shields so mortified him that he never afterward pressed his claims or wishes. In 1857, he resigned the Circuit Judgeship to accept a seat upon the Supreme Bench, nevermore to leave it until the final summons, and it is as such that he achieved his highest honors. He was upon the Supreme Bench in 1841, when he was elected to the State Senate. He died June 28, 1878, a member of the court. We know of no more fitting words by which his judicial life may be reviewed than the remarks of Mr. Justice Scott, of the Supreme Court, at Ottawa, upon the presentation of resolutions announcing Judge Breeze's death. He says: " Judge Breeze was a man of gi'eat learning in the best and broadest sense of that term. To the studies prescribed by the colege of which he was graduate, he added a life-time of study. Notwithstanding his constant employment in public life, he found time for the study of classic literature, both in Latin and in English. After the close of the labors of the day, extending to a late hour of the evening, I have often known him, in his private room, before retiring, to spend hours in reading standard works on literatm*e or scientific subjects. It was his constant habit. It is a marvel the amount of intellectual labors he could endure. What relates to his personal history will soon fade from the recollections of the living and be forever forgotten. He will only be remembered by his public works.

" Few men have influenced in so large a measure the jurisprudence of this State or nation in which they lived as^Judge Breeze. Every one, to some extent, creates the opportunities for success in life. The means he possessed were within the reach of others, had they possessed the ability to combine them. Genius makes opportunities as well as employs those at hand for successful i achievements. We call men great only in comparison with othei's. and hence we are always looking to see what others have done in the same field of labor. When the real does not exist we may conceive the ideal, and institute comparisons. As no one appears anywhere in judicial history who conforms exactly to the ideal of the true Judge, it is no easy task to express the conception of such a character. Some few of the essential qualities readily suggest themselves. * * * While we may not expect to find in him whose character we are considering, nor in that of any other Judge of the present or past ages, all that we might conceive to belong to the ideal Judge, yet some of the grand essentials do appear in his character. Although making no parade of it, he possessed in a full measure that absolute incorruptibility that insures purity in the administration of the law - qualities which belong to the true Judge. His judgments were always distinctly marked with impartiality and evenhanded justice. He believed in those fundamental principles embodied in our organic law - that every person ought ' to obtain by law right and justice freely and without being obliged to purchase it,' and that he ought to ' find a certain remedy in the laws for all injuries and wrongs which he may receive in his person, property or reputation.'

"He had not that degree of self-conlideuce possessed by many, yet he was free from that hesitancy that so embarrasses many Judges, as to destroy, in a marked degree, their efficiency. Although he wrote with unusual facility, fet so careful was he in preparing his opinions, I have known him when he deemed the case of importance, to write the same over as many as three or four times.

" His style was singularly perspicuous - as specimens of line writing, it is my judgment that his opinions will suffer nothing in comparison with the best, the most distinguished jurists of this country and of England.

" Chief Justice Marshal was on the bench for a period of thirty-fom- years. His opinions, with the other members of the court, are comprised in thirty vohimes, exclusive of his decisions on the circuit, many of which were written and published. Judge Breeze was a member of our Supremo Court not quite twenty-three years, and yet his opinions, with those of the other Justices, compose seventy volimies, including the opinions now in manuscript. Some idea of the magnitude of his labors may be obtained when it is stated as the truth, he did his full share of

" If wo except one of his associates still on the bench, he has, perhaps, written more opinions than any Judge who ever occupied the bench in any of the American States. The exception, if any, is Chancellor Kent, and it is, perhaps, quite correct to say that

" There is scarcely a question that concerns the public welfare or the jurisprudence of this great State upon which he has not written, and almost always with great clearness and accuracy.

" More enduring than a monument of solid granite are the official reports of the State to his learning and ability as a jurist. lacluding the opinions now in manuscript, in which he participated, we will have eighty more volumes of reports, with every one of which his name is connected, either as a re porter, counsel or as a Justice delivering the opinions.

"The questions discussed in the sixty years he was in some way connected with the court are of the utmost importance, and are such as would naturally be expected to arise in that formative period of a rapidly growing State, and especially in one that has so suddenly risen to the proportions of an empire in itself.

" He rests from his labors, but how truly can it be said of him his works do follow him. His fame as a judicial wi'iter will endure as long as the common law is administered anywhere among the nations of the earth; and the beneficent princples his learning and ability assisted to maintain will aid in establishing right and justice in behalf of the humblest as well as the most exalted

He was a jurist of clear and keen per ceptions, surpassed by none and equaled by few. In polities, Judge Breeze in early life was a Whig. He was a bitter opponent of Andrew Jackson, and never lost an opportunity to strike. He afterward took a different view and became a zealous Democrat, and as such he died.

It is impossible for the writer hereof to paint with pen the true character of this man He was too great for any but great men to write. He was at times cross and sensitive, at times kind and pleasant; when he felt like it, he was one of the most companionable men, well versed in literature, always entertaining in conversation. His knowledge of Illinois and the men and parties of the State was, perhaps, superior to that of any other man. and it is to be regretted that he did not find time from his labors to put his recollections in history. He made Hon. Melville W. Fuller his literary executor, and among his effects it is hoped that much valuable manuscript may be found.

He was extremely sensitive about his age, and seldom permitted an inquiry upon that subject. Upon one occasion a few years before his death, when asked by an old citizen of this county, who had known him for years and had grown old with him, how old he was, he replied by saying, " I may be fifty, sir, and I may be one hundred and fifty; it is none of your d - d btisiness." I have heard of but one instance where he volunteered his age. In 1872, he was pressed by his friends for the Democratic nomination for Presidency, and had ho been elected, he, no doubt, would have made an administration that would have been at once strong, honest, wise and popular. But, like

Shortly before his death, he was called upon by Maj. Johnston, who, in the course of the conversation asked the Judge if he would be a candidate for re-election. The Judge's reply was : " I want to die in the harness," and so he did die, working up to the very last, and thus died one of the three great men of Illinois.

Walter B. Scates. - The eminent character of this gentleman requires more than a passing notice; in fact a history of the State would be imperfect without an extended notice of him and his many public services. j For more than fifty years, his life has been closely interwoven with the public affairs of the State, and we very much doubt if there is another man of Judge Scates' years that has rendered more public service than he.

Walter B. Scates was born January 18, 1808, at South Boston, Halifax Co., Va. He came from Revolutionary stock, his maternal grandfather, Walter Bennett, for whom he j was named, being a Surgeon in the war of independence. In April, after his birth in January, his parents removed to Tennessee, and after a short residence in that State removed, and finally settled upon a farm near Hopkinsville, Ky., where Walter B. grew to manhood. The Indians had btit recently been driven from that country, the car of civilization had scarcely entered, and the subject of this sketch was what now would be termed "brought up in the woods." The principal amusement of the young men of that day was in riding the old. gentle horse, with a "turn of corn," some miles to the old mill, and the associations found upon these occasions were, perhaps, about the extent of his mixing with the outside world until he left home. His parents being poor, and living on what would now be termed the " borders," he had not the opportunities of school, yet Lis mind dispelled the cloud, and looked beyond for more educational advantages than was afforded him at home. By continued effort, and that same energy which has marked his whole life, he acquired sufficient education to enable him to read, and from this time forwai-d it may be said that his book was his constant companion. At the age of nineteen, he broke loose from the attachments of home, and without his family's permission or knowledge he went to Nashville, Tenn., and apprenticed himself to a Mr. Wilson, editor and publisher of a newspaper. WHson had a;good library, and young Scates had it stipulated in the articles of apprenticeship that he should have the use of the library-. When he first went to Nashville, it was his intention to study medicine, but having no money and but little education, he was unable to make the necessary arrangements, hence his engagement with Wilson, the printer. He continued with Wilson for about three months when his father, ascertaining his whereabouts, went to him and proposed that, if he would return home, he would lind some way to send him to school. This proposition was accepted, and Walter went with his father back to the home he had three months before left.

Upon his return, he attended the neighborhood school for about one year, the latter part of which he received some instructions in Latin and Greek from a Mr. Moore. It was the intention of himself and father that he should study medicine, and an arrangement was made with a Dr. Webber, of Hopkinsville, Ky. , for Walter B. to enter his office as a student, but being unable to make satisfactory arrangements about board, the engagement with Dr. Webber was abandoned. In 182S, he entered the law office of Charles Morehead, afterward Governor of Kentucky, and became a student of Blackstone. In

1831, he was admitted to the bar, and in Mari.'h of that year started on horseback to go to St. Louis to locate. On arriving at Old Frankfort, then the county seat of Franklin County, 111., he found his money matters getting short, only having $12 in depreciated currenc) of the old Commonwealth Bank of Kentucky. Being thus depleted in his finances, he concluded he could not maintain himself in St. Louis, and at once settled in Old Frankfort To this place he brought his clothes and books in his saddlebags. His father had obtained 100 acres of land near Belleville, this State, which he gave him. He went to Belleville, sold or traded the land for some old horses, shipped them to New Orleans, working as a deck hand to pay the freight. Judge Scates remained at Old Frankfort five years, in the practice of the law in Franklin and fourteen other counties - a territory SO by 120 miles. During this period, he came in contact with many of the strongest men of the State, many of whom afterward attained distinction in their profession; among them were Breeze. Eddy, Gatwood, Hardin, David J. Baker (father of the present Judge Baker, of the Appellate Court) - in fact, the bar of that circuit was the strongest in the State. In 1885, Judge Scates was elected County Surveyor of Franklin County. He participated in the Black Hawk war; was at the battle of Kellogg" s Grove. In 1835, he was also a candidate before the Legislature for the office of Judge of the Circuit Court of the Third Judicial Disti-ict, but was defeated by Alexander Grant. In 1836, he was appointed Attorney General for the State and moved to Vandalia, then the capital. About this time, November 21, 1836, he was man-ied to Miss Mary Ridgway, at Shawneetowm, 111. In about 1837, Scates was elected Judge of the Circuit Court by the Legislature, in place of Hardin, resigned, and removed to Mount Vernon. He held his first court in McLeansboro. In 1840, a law was passed, legislating all Circuit Judges out of office, and imposing circuit duties upon the Judges of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Bench was increased by the^election of five new Judges. Under this law, Judges Douglas, Ford, Treat and Scates were elected. He occupied the Supreme Bench until 1847, when he resigned, and was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention from the counties of Hamilton, Jefferson and Marion. He was Chairman of the Judiciary Committee of that body. In the convention, he was active, industrious and able. He advocated the '2-mill tax, an elective judiciary, universal suffrage, prohibition of special legislation, prohibition of banking, limited sessions of the Legislature and strongly opposed the poll taz.

In 1853, Judge Lyman Trumbull, of the Supreme Bench, having resigned his seat for the purpose of accepting the office of United States Senator, Judge Scates was elected to the vacancy, and continued as such until 1857, when he resigned and removed to Chicago, and entered into the practice of the law with William K. McAllister, John N. Jewett and Francis B. Peabodj'.

In 1858, Mr. Peabody withdrew from the firm, leaving the firm of Scates, McAllister & Jewett - perhaps as strong a legal combination as then existed in the State. McAllister afterward became a member of the Supreme Bench, and is now on the Circuit bench in Chicago. The firm continued in a growing and lucrative practice until August, 1862, when Judge Scates, thinking his country needed his services in its hour of apparent darkness, retired from the law firm of which he was the head, and although beyond that age in life when such a sacrifice could be demanded, volunteered his services to the army, and wag at once assigned to duty as Adjutant on Gen. McClernand's staff, and so continued, in camp and in field, doing brave and gallant service for the land of his birth until he was mustered out in January, 1806. He was brevetted Brigadier General for bravery and faithfulness in the line of duty. Of Gen. Scates, it is but just to history to say that he, in every post assigned him, was vigilant, active, faithful, brave and zealous. He was a true and tried soldier, prompt in the performance of every duty, undaunted in the hour of danger, and. although comparatively an old man, full of fire, courage and energy. Upon his return from the army, he re-entered the practice of his profession at Chicago, as the senior member of the firm of Scates, Bates & Towslee; but he was not permitted to remain long in the piu-suit of his private business; he had proven himself so faithful a servant, and in the same year of his return from the army, President Johnson appointed bim Collector of Customs at Chicago, vice Havan, deceased, and in this capacity he proved himself the same efficient and faithful officer that had characterized him throughout life. Of his integrity and ability in the administration of his duties, his regular reports to the department bear the strongest evidence, each showing an increase of receipts and a decrease of expenses. Judge Scates served his time as Collector of the Port with honor to himself and credit to the department, and it mar well be said that with more men of the Judge's ability and integrity to superintend and handle the revenue there would not be heard so often the cry of fraud and embezzlement. After bis retirement from public service, he again entered the law, and is still so engaged, although on account of his age (seventy-five years) and feebleness, he at present is not attempting the practic(> extensively, and is perhaps only engaged in some few mat- ters in which he has a personal interest. He recently told the writer that he expected to visit Mount Vernon at the next session of the .yuj)reme Coui't, in November, and there make an argument in an important case. Judge Scates was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court several terms, and it is, jierhaps, as such that he shines brightest. He has written in many leading cases, and ably written. His opinions are recognized to-day by the courts and the bar as of the highest authority - the peer of any, and second to none; for clearness and analytical force, learned and soundness of law, his opinions are remarkable. To Judge Scates, together with Gov. Casey, Jefferson County and Mount Vernon to-day owe a debt of gratitude that they will, perhaps, never be able to pay. It was owing to their efforts, as members of the Constitutional Convention of 1848, that the Supreme Court was established there. All of the towns in this division were applicants, and pressed their claims with energy; but by the skill of Judge Scates, who had been a member of the Supreme Bench, and of Gov. Casey and Maj. F. S. Casey, Mount Vernon was selected, and has so far been able to retain it. Perhaps if Judge Scates was to be measured by the standard of greatness that is so prevalent to-day - so unjust, so short-sighted - he would not bear the test. We allude to the test of " means " - of " money." Judge Scates lived in a day when l)rains, not money-bags, constituted worth. He engaged in a few business ventures, but they were not successful, and today he IS a poor man in money, but rich in mental results, which will remain- an honorable monument to him long after a world of money has passed away. In fact, no higher compliment can be paid the public servant who has spent a lifetime in office than to truthfully say, " He closed his career a poor

Judge Baker was born in Kaskaskia, on the 20th of November, 1834, and was the third son of the late Judge D. J. Baker, of Alton. He graduated at Shurtleflf College in 1854, carrying off the prize of the Latin oration. He read law with his father, and was admitted in 1856. In the same year, he cast his first vote, for John C. Fremont for President, and from that day to the present there has been no perceptible change in his politics. Yet it is safe to say that the bummers and corruptionists that have so neariy wrecked the Eepublican party find no sympath} in Judge Baker. In 1864, he was elected Mayor of Cairo, and in 1869 was elected Judge of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit.

In July, 1864, h* was mai-riedtoMiss Elizabeth White, daughter of John C. White, of Cairo. He was re-elected Judge in 187-3; resigned, to accept the appointment of Judge of the Supreme Court, in 1878; was again reelected to the Circuit Bench in 1879, and was, by the Supreme Court, assigned to Appellate Com't duty - which position he now holds.

Judge John H. Mulkey, who now occupies the Supreme Bench from this division, is a man who has long been known to the bar of Southern Illinois.

He was born about 1823, in Kentucky, and with his father's family came to Illinois and settled in Franklin County. The family, with the exception of the Judge, were farm- ers. He soon discovered that he was not specially adapted to farm life. He obtained a fair education, and by persistent reading soon stored his mind with a fand of general information.

At twenty- five years of age, he entered the commercial world, and opened a cross-roads store in Franklin County, but he did not continue long in this business. The " dogs of war " were beginning to growl, and the military spirit was pervading the country with irresistible force, and Judge Mulkey did not escape its attack. He volunteered as a private of Company E, Second Illinois Regiment, and took up the line of march for the land of the " Montezumas." He was afterward promoted to Second Lieutenant of his company. Upon his return from war, he taught school and began the study of the law, reading, as some of his friends have said, in " the brash." He afterward read some at Benton, Franklin County, after which he tried farming, but was not a success, and again became a merchant for a short time. His career in this direction was brought to a sudden close, however, by an unfortunate adventure; he invested largely in lumber (hoop poles), loaded them on a flat-boat and started for the market, but danger was ahead of him. His craft struck a snag, and down into the waters of the Mississif)pi wont bciat, hoop poles, and about all of the Judge's earthly effects, and left him in a seriously damaged condition; in fact, he was a " busted merchant." He then, with ax and hoe, undertook to subdue the wild forest and make him a home; but again he failed.

In 1857, he removed to Perry County, and was admitted to the bar. It was not long un til he and his friends discovered that he at last had drifted to his element. He soon attained a high rank in his profession - " rode the «ircuit," as was the custom in those days.

It is, perhaps, not out of place to say that his father, a prominent minister in the Christian Church, long cherished the hope that his son should follow his footsteps and likewise enter the ministry, and made some effort to prepare the Judge for clerical duties. And no doubt the son made strong effort to comply with his father's wishes in this particular, and while he was noted for his early and exemplary piety, this enterprise was no more successful than his farming and merchandising. He was plain, unassuming and fun-loving in his young manhood, and yet he must have been a close, hard-working student in order to carve out the bright and honorable career that lay before him. In 186l), he located at Cairo, and formed a partnership with the present Judge D. J. Baker, and from this time we may date his rapid rise to the head of the bar in Southern Illinois.

April 2, 1864, he was commissioned Circuit Judge of the Third Circuit; but previous to this he was, for opinion's sake, made one of the victims of arbitrary arrest, and at the suggestion of the authorities, for a time took up his residence at the old capitol in Washington - a hotel conducted exclusively by the Government - and while the accommodations were not altogether of a desirable nature, yet they were regular, and all the bills paid by the Government. On June 2, 1879, he was elected to the Supreme Bench, vice Baker, and is at present tilling the high position.

Judge Mulkey owes nothing to fortunate circumstances or sui'roundings. He has not been favored with the aid of strong and influential friends; but alone, and by his own inherent strength of mental jjower, he has achieved, apparently without effort, the prize for which so many ambitious men have toiled and struggled.

Courts, after the year 1874, <jf uniform organization and jurisdiction in districts created for that purpose, to which such appeals and writs of error as the General Assembly may provide may be prosecuted from Circuit and other coui'ts, and from which appeals and wi'its of error may lie to the Supreme Court in all criminal cases and oases in which a franchise or freehold or validity of a statute is involved, and in such other cases as may be provided by law. Such Appellate Courts to be held by such number of Judges of the Circuit Coui'ts, and at such times and places and in such manner as might be provided by law; but no Judge shall sit in review upon cases decided by him, nor shall said Judges receive any additional compensation for such services. Under this provision of the constitution, the Legislatiu-e, in 1877, created four Appellate Courts in the State; the first to consist of Cook County, the second to include all of the counties of the Northern Grand Division of the Supreme Court except Cook, the third to include all of the Central Grand Division, and the f oui'th to include all of the Southern Grand Division. The Judges of these Appellate Courts to be assigned by the Supreme Court from the Circuit Courts of the State, and each court to consist of three Judges thus assigned. Two terms each are held every year.

On the organization of the court in this, the Fourth District, Judges Tazewell B. Tanner, James C. Allen and George W. Wall were assigned by the Supreme Court to Appellate Coui't duty. Judge Tanner became the first Presiding Justice of the coui-t, and R. A. D. Wilbanks was its first Clerk, by virtue of his offices as Clerk of the Supreme Court.

court. While this branch of the new judicial machinery of the State has only been in practical operation since 1877, yet it is in good favor by the bar of the State. Its efifect has been to greatly relieve the Supreme Court in the then rapidly accumulating business. It insures more promptness and greater dispatch in the law than could have possibly been obtained without it or some other relief measure. T

Judge Tazewell B. Tanner. - Perhaps no member of the bar of this county became so thoroughly identified with every material interest as did the subject of this sketch.

He was born in Henry County, Va., :ind died at his residence in this place on the 25th day of March, 1880. He came to this county in IS-tG or 1847, and took charge of the public schools, after which he became connected with the Jeffersonian, a Democratic newspaper then published here. In 1848 or 1849, he was taken with the gold fever, and crossed the plains in search of wealth. He met with some success, retm-ned in 1850 or 1851, was elected Clerk of Circuit Court, served two years and resigned. He had taught school in Belleville before he came here, and while there read law with Gov. Matteson. While Clerk of the Circuit Court, he continued the study, and upon his resignation he was admitted to the bar, and at once entered upon the practice with the now Judge Thomas S. Casey. In 1854, he was elected to the Legislature, and while there secured an appropriation for the building, at this place, of the Supreme Court House, and was made one of the Commissioners to superintend its construction. In 1862, he was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention. He early attained a high standing in the profession as a lawyer, and while " riding the circuits" always had his share of the business. In 1867, he was a candidate for Judge of this circuit, but was defeated by the Hon. James M. Pollock. In 1873, he was again a candidate, and was elected over Judge Pollock and Col, John M Crebbs, of White County. In 1877, upon the organization of the Appellate Court, he was, by the Supreme Court, assigned to the Appellate Bench, and became its first presiding officer. In June, 1879, he was, for a time, a candidate for Judge of the Supreme Court, but withdrew before the election. Upon his retirement from the bench, he again engaged in the active practice, and so continued until stricken down by the disease which terminated his life. It is not our purpose to give an extended sketch of Judge Tanner in this chapter - his full biographical sketch will be found elsewhere - biit a history of the bar would not be complete without something of him. He was a kind, social gentleman, full of interesting anecdotes, and always fond of relating them. There are many good stories told of him, one of which the writer hereof well remembers: He was defending a man charged with shooting at some negroes. The prc>secuting witness wiis a colored gentleman known here as George orCapt. Scott. The Captain had sworn very positively to the shooting, and had made a rather strong case against the Judge's client ; but the cross-examination came, and Tanner took the Captain in hand txD break the force of his evidence, if possible. He commenced by asking him if he was in the house at the time the shooting occurred.

" Well, sir, if you were not in the house, out doors, under the bed, in the loft, under the floor nor in the chimney, where were you, sir? Now, answer me that, sir; " and he di'ew down his eyebrows and closed his eyes, as was his custom when he thought he had his man fast, and paused for the answer.

Judge Tanner was a profoimd lawyer ; well read in all the books. In practice, as well as ou the bench, he went to the bottom of every case presented. Ho brought to his aid an intelligent industry, that made him a better lawyer at the end of each year than he was at the beginning. To young men just enteriug the profession, he was most kind: he always had words of encouragement for them. It was the good fortune of the writer to study law with the Judge, and no man was ever kinder to a student; he always had a good word. To his client he was honest and just. If the client did not have a case, the Judge did not hesitate to tell him so; and frequently has he lost clients because he did not advise success; but his principle and theory was that if the client did not have a case, to frankly tell him so.

On the bench he was most painstaking. He sifted every case and brought to the front the equities. Of unimpeachable integrity, a purer man never sat in judgment.

"A judge - a man so learned So full of equity, so noble, so notable; In the process of life so innocent; In the management of his office so incorrupt;

In the passages of rights so wise; in Affection of his country so religious: In all his services to the State so Fortunate and exploring, as envy Itself cannot accuse, or malice vitiate."

Jndge G. W. Wall, at preseni member of the Appellate Court and its presiding officer, was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, April 22, 1839; came with his family to Illinois in the latter part of 183'J and located in Perry County, where he grew to manhood. For a time was a student at McKendree College, but graduated at the Michigan University in 1858. He read law with C. I. Simons, in Cairo, and afterward graduated at the Cincinnati Law School in 1859, and was at once admitted to the bar. In 1866, he was a member of the law firm of Mulkey, Wall & Wheeler, of Cairo, which continued for many years, and until he was elected Judge of the Circuit Court. He was attorney for the Illinois Central Railroad, and while thus acting a good story is told of him. He was called upon to attend a case at Effingham for the railroad, which had been sued by a citizen for the value of stock killed by defendants' train. The venerable and ever ready O. B. Ficklin was prosecuting the company, together with some other attorney whose name is not now remembered. The evidence was heard, and counsel went to the jury. The plaintiff's case was opened by Ficklin's associate, who indulged in considerable bunkum and bombast about giant corporations, etc. After he clo'^ed. Wall replied for the defense, and during the course of his remarks compared the gentleman who had preceded him to Dickens' famous character of " Sergeant Buzfuz," and, as he thought, completely annihilated the gentleman, and left nothing to be done but for the jury to retiu-n a verdict for the defendant, and thus closed his case. It was now time for Ficklin to make the closing argument for the plaintiff, and after

"And now, gentlemen of the jury, it becomes my painful duty to reply to the malignant and uncalled-for attack uj)on one of the best men this country ever produced; a man who has long since slept with his fathers, and upon whose character no man, until today, has dared to cast the shadow of suspicion. I allude, gentlemen of the jury, to the attack of my young friend Wall upon the memory of that good and kind man. Sergeant Buzfuz. Gentlemen, it was not, perhaps, yoiu- privilege, as it-was mine, to have known him personally. I remember him well, in the early and trying times of this country. He first assisted to cut out the roads through this county. He was the early pioneer; who was ever ready and willing, with honest heart and active hand, to aid a friend or brother in distress. In fact, gentlemen of the jury, there are few men, living or dead, that this country owes more to than it does to my old friend Sergeant Buzfiiz. It is true, gentlemen, that he was somewhat uncouth and blunt in his way, but his every action, T assure you, was prompted by a noble and honest motive. He was not blessed with the brilliant and accomplished education of my young friend. He, gentlemen of the jury, wore no starched shirt, or' fine neckties; he was humble and retired. In his leather leggins and hunting shirt he went about the country, not as a representative of a rich railroad monopoly, but as an humble citizen doing good to his fellow-man. His bones have long since moldered into dust ; the sod gi-ows green over his grave; his work is done, and he is gone from among us to return no more forever; and I was sm-prised to hear his just and amiable character attacked in the manner it has been upon this occasion; and it is impossible for me, his last remaining friend, to permit it to go by unnoticed. And to you, sir [turning to Wall, who was by this time completely dumb-founded], I say, no better man ever lived than he whom you have so unjustly abused. Youth, sir, should have more respect for the men who have made life pleasant for those who come after them, than to assail their character in the manner you have done;" and thus he continued until his close, with great earnestness and the utmost apparent sincerity. At its close, the jury could hardly wait uotil they could write their verdict for the full amount of damages claimed by the plaintiff, and, it is said, so worked up were they that Wall had difficulty in escaping personal violence.

In 1802, Judge Wall was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention; in 1864, he was State's Attorney for the Third Judicial Circuit, and in 1870 was again a member of the Constitutional Convention.

In August, 1877, he was elected Jvidge of the Third Judicial Circuit, which position he still holds. In September. 1877, he was assigned to the Appellate Court for the Fourth District, and has so remained to the present time. As a -Judge, he is clear, concise and sound, of unimpeachable integrity; and for ability and legal learning he takes front rank in the State's judiciary. Yet, it is said, he has never referred in a disparag ing manner to any of the early settlers since he made the acquaintance of Judge Ficklin.

Hon. Thomas S. Casey, one of the Circuit Judges of this judicial district, and also one of the Appellate Judges, was born in Jeflferson County, 111., April 6, 1832, and is a son of Gov. Zadok Casey. He was educated at McKench-ee College, Lebanon, 111., and after completing his allotted course of studies and securing the degree of Master of Arts, he applied himself to the study of law under the preceptorship of Hugh B. Montgomery, with whom he remained as a student for three years. At the expiration of that time, he was (in 1854) admitted to .the_bar. In I860, he was elected State's Attorney for the Twelfth Judicial District, having, up to this time, been engaged in the practice of his profession. In 1864, he was re-elected to the same position. In 1862, he entered the army of the United States as Colonel of the One Hundred and Tenth Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served during the succeeding eleven months. He participated in the battle of Stone River, and took part, also, in many other minor engagements. On his return from the field, he resumed his professional labors, and until 1868 filled the position of States Attorney. In 1870, he was elected to the Lower House of the Legislature, and while a member of that body delivered a powerful Free-trade speech, which is noted as being the first speech of its kind ever delivered in the Legislature of Illinois. In 1872, he was elected to the State Senate, and served for four years. In 1879, he was elected one of the Judges of the , Second Jud/cial Circuit Court, and immediately thereafter was, by the Supreme Court, assigned to duty as one of the Judges of the Appellate Court of the Fourth District; which positions he still holds. In politics, he has always been an " Ironside Democrat." He was married, in October, 1861, to Matilda i N. Y. , September 11, 1819. He received a collegiate education, and, in September, 1837, removed to Licking County, Ohio; and at Lancaster, Ohio, he i-ead law with the Hon.

that lime, there was but one lawyer, a Mr. Ward, in the county, and he died the spring after Judge Beecher's arrival. J udge Beecher at once took a front rank in the profession, and in 1840 was elected Probate Justice of Wayne County. He was elected Judge of the Circuit Court for this circuit in 1855, and held the office for six years. In 1860, he edited the second edition of Breeze's Reports, and made the volume more valuable by additional notes and citations. He was appointed Paymaster in the United States Army in November. 1862, aad continued as such until 1869.

Judge Beecher has always been regarded as a profound lawyer and a wise counselor; he made an excellent Judge - and in whatever position he has been called, he has discharged the duties required of him faithfully and honestly He is still residing at Fairfield, where he first settled, and although he is now in his sixty-fourth year, he is hale and vigorous, and enjoying a lucrative practice.

Circuit Court. - The first term of Circuit Court held in this county was convened on the 8th day of October, A. D. 1819, with William Wilson as Judge; Joel Pace, Clerk; Lewis Watkins. Sherifif, and Frederick Adolphus Hubbard, Prosecuting Attorney.

The grand jury, after a laborious (session of about two hours in the woods north of the public square, about where the livery stable of Walker & Pattison now stands, returned two indictments, one against William Casey and one against Lewis Watkina, Sheriif, both for assault and battery. Watkins confessed the soft impeachment, and a fine of $2 and costs was imposed.

May term, 1820, Wilson presided and Henry Eddy was appointed Prosecuting At torney for the term. Two civil cases appeared on the docket, both dismissed by plaintift', six indictments for assault and battery and five for selling liquors without a license, from which we gather that the early settlers came here with the impression that a good knock-down was a luxury to be sought after by those who would have distinction linger around their names. This sentiment, accompanied with a bit of the " elixir of life," or "corn juice," as it may have then been called, was well calculated to make things interesting and not a few sore heads.

At the October term, 1820, Hon. Thomas C. Brown presided. At this term an indictment was returned againsl Ferdinand Herrin for countorfeiting, and for the first time the county found itself in need of a jail; but none was at hand, and the'prisoner was taken to the White County Jail, from whence he proceeded to make his escape, but after a while he was recaptured and lodged in jail at Old Covington, Washingon County, where he remained until the June term of the com-t, 1821, Judge Joseph Phillips presiding. On the 19th day of June, 1821, Herrin was placed on trial, and as it was the most important criminal trial that had been called, considerable interest was manifested, and after due legal forms, a jury was called and testimony heard. After due and careful consideration, the jui-y returned a verdict of guilty, and the court immediately proceeded to pronounce the following sentence: " It is therefore considered by the court that the defendant pay a fine to the people of the county aforesaid in the sum of $20 and costs of this prosecuticm, and that he be whipped thirty-nine stripes on his bare back, which the Sheriff of the county is ordered to inflict at half past 6 o'clock this evening, and it is further ordered that he be committed until fine and costs are paid." Speedy justice, indeed! It was the first time an opportunity had presented itself to give to the citizens a practical illustration of the "terrors of the law," and it could not be Inst. The whipping part was executed at tlie appointed hour, and considering the number of inhabitants in the county at that time, no larger number of the fair daughters and stalwart sons of Jefferson County were ever gathered together. He was committed under the order of the court, but wages being low and payments poor in jail, he did not accumulate very rapidly, and after awhile he was released and the tine and costs are still unpaid. .4. little management in the way of gate fees might have paid it, but it was a free show.

At the November term, 1822, Hon. Thomas Reynolds presided and William Wood sued John M. Pace for false imprisonment. Parties not being ready, the cause was continued until the May term, 1823, at which term the Hon. John Reynolds presided. The case of Woods against Pace was called and tried by jury, and the following verdict retui-ned: " We the jury lind damages in favor of plaintiff $38.37|^ in paper of this State." Judgment was accordingly rendered.

October term, 1823, Thomas Reynolds presided and for the first and only time in the history of the county, the Grand Jury adjourned without finding any indictments. Peace and good will seems to have reigned throughout the entire county.

At the May and October terms, 1824:, Thomas Reynolds presided. In April, 1825, James Hall was upon the bench; October, 1825, James Wattles wore the title and James Hall was here again in April and October, 1826.

March, 1827, court opened with Thomas Brown on the bench. The grand jury at this time in hunting for violators of the law, discovered that Joel Pace, the Clerk of the court, had been a little pugnacious, and they returned a bill against him for assault and battery. Defendant first thought the indictment was bad and entered his motion to quash. The court, however, was inclined to be satisfied, and overruled the motion. Defendant b}' this time came to the conclusion that he was not guilty, and so entered his plea and called for a jury. A jury came, and after full investigation of the case, came to the conclusion that the defendant was again mistaken in his plea, and returned a verdict of guilty as charged, whereupon defendant was required to contribute the sum of $1 to the school fund and also to pay the costs of the prosecution.

March and August terms, 1836, Jeptha Hardin presided. About this time Judge Hardin's brother-in-law killed a man, and the Judge resigned his seat to prosecute him, and in doing so said he would rather be the owner of a tub mill in Kentucky than a Circuit Judge in Illinois.

At the August term, 1838, Downing Baugh was indicted for retailing clocks without having first obtained a license therefor. Defendant entered his plea of not guilty, as inferred from the following order entered in the case: " Now on this day came the people by Marshall, State's Attorney, and the defendant in his own proper person, and the said defendant for plea says he is not guilty and for trial puts himself upon the country and State's Attorney does the like, whereupon let a jury come, and thereupon a jury came, to wit: James Montgomery. Samuel Cummins, John R. Allen, Joseph Dorrel, Granville Jones, James Bennett, John Dod- son, William R. Little and Uriah Witherspoon, who beiug elected, tried and sworn, well and truly to try the issues joined, upon their oaths do say, we, the jury, find the defendant guilty. It is considered by the coui-t that the plaintiff recover of the defendant the sum of $5 and costs of this proceedings."

We conclude that the proceedings had in this case did not materially affect the defendant's popularity, because he was afterward made Judge of the Circuit Court.

With this one exception, nothing of special interest seems to have come before the coiu-t until the April term, 1S41, when the first indictment for mui'der was returned into court against Rollin Bradley, charging him with killing and murdering one Elijah P. King. Nothing was done at this term in the case except to recognize the witnesses and continue. The witnesses were Robert A. D. Wilbanks, father of the present Clerk of the Appellate Court; William H. Short, John Browning, James W. Garrison. Nathan Kirk, A. D. W. Williams. Elijah Piper, George Black, Bershall Black and James A. Hamilton.

At the special November term, 1841, the case was called and the trial entered upon. But in order that the case may be fully understood, we will give the circTimstances of the killing as we have gathered them from a history of the county by Dr. A. Clark Johnson, published in the Free Press a few years ago:

Elijah P. King, the victim, lived near the east side of Elk Prairie. Bradley lived on the west side, was an industrious man, kept a barrel of whisky, and was gaining property as rapidly as was common in that day. He was, however, always a determined and dangerous man.

before he left a quarrel arose, and King, being a large, stout man, and rather anxious for a fight, took a chair, knocked Bradley down, and gave him a very severe beating, and, leaving him, got on his horse and went home. Wesley Hicks came in a few minutes afterward, and finding Bradley insensible and the floor all bespattered with blood, pronounced him a murdered man. But by the help of Hicks' dressing and good attention, he was able to be up next day and swore he would kill King on sight.

The next moi'ning King concluded he would go to Bradley's and make friends with him and get some more whisky. When he rode up, Bradley met him with his gun. King said, " Bradley, you are not going to shoot me, are you?" Bradley replied, "Yes, by - , I am." King dismounted on the opposite side of his horse, exclaiming, " For God's sake don't shoot me." Bradley stepped around the horse, placed the gun to King's side, fired, and King died in a few minutes. Bradley then fled. Ho was, however, captiu'ed, indicted, and trial set for the special November term, 1841, Scates was on the bench; Willis Allen was Prosecuting Attorney; Henry Eddy, W. J. Gatewood, S. G. Hicks and E. Jones represented the defense. After an examination of about fifty men, a jury was impaneled, consisting of Coleman Smith, W. M. Fuller, J. H. Watson, S. B. Shelton, B. McConnell. Jesse Phillips. D. Baugh, John Holt, D. McLaughlin, Joel Smith, Edward Owens and W. Gibberson. The examination of witnesses began on November 30, and December 7, the argument opened, continuing until December 8, when the^case went to the jury. In. a short time, however, the jury retmmed a verdict of guilty.

sentence of death on Bradley and fixed the 3d day of January, 1842, between the hoiu's of 12 and 2 o'clock, for his execution. Judge Scates is said to have evinced considerable feeling, but Bradley listened with much indiflerence and at the conclusion, got up and took a di'ink of water as if nothing had happened.

A gallows was erected somewhere near where the machine shop now stands, and every arrangement made for the execution; but Bradley had friends, and they were not idle. A petition was at once circulated, asking for his pardon. Bluford Hayes took it to Springfield, obtained the pardon and returned just in time to disappoint one of the largest crowds that ever assembled in the county, many of them leaving mad and hot at their disappointment.

Judge Scates was on the bench from 1837 until 1846, when the Hon, William A. Denning was elected, and continued to hold court until the election of Judge Marshall in 1851, when he resigned, and Downing Baugh was appointed to fill the vacancy. Edwin Beecher followed Baugh in 1855, and in 1861 Marshall came back, remained vintil February, 1865, when he again resigned to accept a seat in Congress, and James M. Pollock was elected and served until 1872, when he was succeded by T. B. Tanner, and in 187S he gave way to Thomas S. Casey, the present incumbent. Thus have we given a brief sketch of the Circuit Coiut.

William Wilson was born in Loudoun County, Ya., in 1795. At eighteen, be studied law with Hon. John Cook, a lawyer of much prominence at the Virginia bar and who was aftei'ward Minister to the court of

France. In 1817, young Wilson came West in search of fame and success. He settled near Carmi, White County. In 1818, he was a caudidate for Judge of the Supreme Court before the Legislature, but was defeated by six votes; but within less than one yeai' he was appointed to a vacancy and served as Justice, when he was made Chief Justice, then in his twenty-ninth year. He was not a politician in any sense of the word; he did that which he conceived to be his duty regardless of consequences, and this trait, together with some considerable legal knowledge and ability, kept him on the Supreme Bench for thirty years. His composition was clear, distinct and to the point. He possessed an analytical mind; his judgment as a lawyer was discriminating and sound, and upon the bench his learning and impartiality commanded respect, while his own dignified deportment inspired decorum in others. He was greatly esteemed by the members of the bar.

In politics, Judge Wilson was a AVhig. He was an amiable and accomplished gentleman in his private life, with manners engaging and friendship strong. His hospitality was of the " Old Virginia " order, and during his summer vacations he almost always had many friends and men of distinction visit him at his home on the banks of the Little Wabash near Carmi.

With the re-organization of the judicial system of the State in 1848, Judge Wilson retired to private life. He died April 29, 1857, at his home near Carmi, in his sixtythird year, one-half of his life having been spent upon the bench of the highest court of his State.

Samuel S. Marshal], a native of Illinois, has spent his whole life in this State. He was born in Gallatin County, near Shawnee - town, on the 12th day of March, 1821, and there grew to manhood, during which time he obtained a fair education. He entered the law office of Henry Eddy, of Shawneetown, one of the then prominent lawyers of the State. In 1S44, Judge Marshall was admitted to the bar, and shortly after located at McLeansboro, where he still presides, and began the practice of his profession. He was not long permitted to remain in private life. He already began to develop traits of character and ability which pronounced a leader, and in 1846 he was elected to the Legislature, where he at once took a front rank in the councils of the State. Dm-ing his term as a member of the Legislature, he was elected by that body Prosecuting Attorney of this judicial circuit, then comprising the counties of Jefferson, Marion, Hamilton, Franklin, Williamson, Jackson, Union, Alexander, Pulaski, Massac, Pope, Hardin, Gallatin and Saline, fourteen in all, extending from what is now the Ohio & Mississippi Eailroad to the southern boundary of the State at Cairo; and from the Ohio River on the east to the Mississippi on the west. In those days, it will be remembered that no railroads were in this county, and the traveling accommodations were not as good as at present. The court and bar " rode the cir cuit" from county to county, sometimes in a stage, sometimes in a wagon, then on horseback and again on foot, with a rail on their shoulder to pry the stage out of the nest mud hole. Those were trying times on the bar, and yet many pleasures were had that are not to-day enjoyed; telling stories and cracking jokes was the pastime on the way. At court, four or five would be stowed away in a small room at the best hotel, which was nothing to speak of. But whisky was cheap, and the trials were bravely endm^ed. For two years Judge Marshall " rode the circuit" in this manner as Prosecuting Attorney, on a salary of $250 per year, and really though he was on the road to prosperity. To-day, each county has a prosecutor, at an average salary of SI, 000 per year, amounting in the aggregate to S14,000, for the same territory in which Judge Marshall received S250. At the time the Judge was elected Prosecutor, he had been in court but little, but by a persistence which is characteristic of him, he soon learned the harness and taught the violators of the law that their acts would receive due and ample consideration. At the expiration of his term of office, he declined a re-election and returned to the practice, but in 1851 he was again called to public life, and elected Judge of this judicial circuit over the Hon. ,^ Charles H. Constable, then of Wabash County. He continued upon the bench until 1S54, when he was elected to Congress as the Democratic candidate from this district He was re-elected in 1856, and declined to be a candidate in 1858, and was succeeded by John A. Logan.

In March, 1861, Judge Marshall was again elected to the bench and served as Judge of the Circuit Court until 1864, when he was 1 again called by his party to bear its standard '> for Congress, and was regularly re-elected I in 1866, 1868, 1870 and 1872: was a candi j date in 1874, and was defeated by Hon. W. , B. Anderson, of this county, who had become 1 the leader in this district of that short-lived tidal wave, the farmers' club movement Judge Marshall had. daring his entire life, adhered strictly to the Jeffersonian Democ - racy, and refused to pander to the caprices of the occasion for the sake of present political preferment. Time has only proved the wis dom of his course, for the mushroom hallucination which placed Gen. Anderson and many others for a time at the front was scarcely born ere it began to die, and has long since been numbered with things that were, " a schoolboy's tale, the wonder of an hoiir." and. in its receding, has left many of its followers stranded ufion the shores of the uncertain and dangerous sea of politics.

Since Judge Marshall's retirement from Congress, he has not been in public service. As a prosecutor, he was faithful, feai-less and unflinching; as a Judge, he was upright, just and able: as a legislator in both State and nation, he was strong, forcible and convincing, and in every conflict he was found watching and battling faithfully and honestly for the people whom he represented. Judge Marshall has ever enjoyed the full confidence of his party; at one time he received the vote of the Democrats in Congress for Speaker of the House.

Space will not permit us to enter his Congressional life: it would be a history within itself. Sutfice to say that he was the peer of any member, recognized as a man of strong ability and great industry. As before stated, from his youth he has been an unalterable, uncompromising Democrat of the Jefferson school, ever believing that within the Democratic principles are found the elements of the most good to the most people, and in every conflict to which our State and nation is subject Judge Marshall may be heard where the battle is hottest advocating the political questions in an able manner from a Democratic standpoint. In his official life, he was always found at the post of duty, and it is remai'ked of him that although in poor health, he was never absent from the court room when by law it was his duty to be there. Talented and cultm-ed, of vmimpeachable integrity, has been the life of Samuel S. Marshall, a man known to the State and nat'on and one who has not lived in vain.

State many of Illinois' early great men came. He moved to this State in about 1820, lived a short time in Bond County, and finally settled in Mount Yernon. He married Milly Pace, the youngest child of Joel Pace, senior sister of the late Joel and Joseph Pace, of this county. Judge Baugh' s father was a man of some education, and was a school teacher in the early days. The Judge acquired some education, and when a young man also taught school. In those days the scholar who could study the loudest was considered the best; quite a contrast with the present system. Could we step into one of the Judge's old time schools to-day, we would hear every student studying his lesson " out loud," if he studied at all. After teaching school awhile, he went to merchandising, in which business he was not successful. He was Postmaster here for many years. At the age of forty-seven, he began the study of law. which he finally completed, and for some yeai's pursued the practice with success. In 1854, he was appointed Judge of the Circuit Court by Gov. Joel A. Matteson, to fill the unexpired term of Judge Marshall, who had been elected to Congress. Judge Baugh presided as Circuit Judge for the nine remaining months. He was honest and upright and performed his duties without reproach to the judiciary or to himself.

In 1840 and 1841, he was Enrolling and Engrossing Clerk of the Twelfth General Assembly. He was Probate Justice of this county for a time, and many years a Justice of the Peace. In 1857, he removed to McGregor, Iowa, where he has since resided. Shortly after his removal to Iowa, he was elected Judge of the City Court, and so acted until the Supreme Court declared the law creating the City Coui'ts unconstitutional.

Grand Chapter of Iowa and Grand Prelate of the Grand Gommandery. He has lived a consistent Christian life, and always commanded the respect of those among whom he has lived.

For years, Judge Baugh has been entirely blind. He is now in his eighty-sixth year, yet his mind is as clear and vigorous as ever. He may be termed one of those pioneers who helped to form and mold the early sentiment of this country and get it started off on the right foot.

William H. Green is among those once members of the bar of this county, who have attained distinction in their profession and in politics. None, prehaps, stand more prominent in the' profession than Judge Green. He was born in Danville, Boyle Co., Ky., December 8, 1830, and was the son of Dr. Duff Green and Lucy Green (n6e Kenton).

His ancestors were among the earliest settlers of Virginia and extensive land-owners in the Shenandoah Valley. They came originally from the province of Leinster, Ireland, about the year 1730. His mot' er was a niece of Simon Kenton, the celebrated pioneer and Indian lighter of Kentucky, and was of Scotch parentage.

Judge Green was educated at Center College, Danville, Ky. , and without graduating became a fair classical scholar, and has all his life been an extensive reader of history and belles- letters, and kept pace with the modern investigations of scientists. His range of thought and study has been upon the higher plane.

In 1846, he came, with his father's family, to Mount Vernon, where, after teaching school for a time, he entered upon the study of the law under the direction of Judge

"Walter B. Scates, was admitted to the bar in 1852, and for one year pursued the practice of his profession in Mount Vernon. Then he moved to Metropolis, where he remained in active practice for ten years and then removed to Cairo, where he has since resided. He has served two tej-ms in the lower branch of the State Legislature, 1858 to 1862, and one in the Senate. In 1865, he was elected Judge of the Circuit Court for the district in which he lived, and since 1861 he has been the attorney for the Illinois Central Railroad except during the times his official positions made it inconsistent for him to be so.

He attended the foiu- National Democratic Conventions as a delegate, at Charleston, Chicago, Nesv York and Cincinnati; has for years been a member of the State Democratic Central Committee, and for twenty-two years has been a member of the State Board of Education, the only Democrat upon it.

Judge Green is now in he prime of intellectual life, and already has he tilled the measiu'e of a just ambition, not so much by the eminence of the politics.1 or judicial positions he has tilled, as by the unalloyed respec: and confidence he has inspired in all men by his able and upright bearing to all.

Lewis F. Casey was bom on the 23d day of April, 1821, in this county. By perseverance and industry, he acquired a fair education and was elected County Surveyor in 1841. In 1843-44, he read law together with Eobert F. Wingate in the law ofdce of Judge Scates. He was admitted to the bar in 1845. In 1846, he was a member of the Legislature and voted for Stephen A. Douglas for the United States Senate. In about 1848, he formed a law partnership with Judge Breeze, which continued for two years. In 1852, he removed to Texas, and in eighteen months after his arrival was

In 1861, Mr. Casey was elected to the State Senate of Texas for four years. He was a member of the Senate at the time the State passed its ordinance of secession, voted for Lewis T. Wigfall for member of the Senate of the Confederate Government, aud of covirse voted for Jefferson Davis for President of the Confederate States. He returned to the State of Illinois in 1806, and located in Centralia, where he has since practiced law. As a lawyer, he is able and ready; in argument he is forcible and always has the attention of the court he addresses. He, in connection with Capt. S. L. Dwight, enjoys a large practice in Marion, Clinton, Washington and Jefferson Counties. He is a nephew of the late Gov. Casey, and possesses much of the ability, energy and other characteristic , which so marked the Governor.

Richard S.Nelson. Among the members of the bar of early days no man figured more conspicuously than did Richard S. Nelson. He was born June 12, 1815, in the city of Douglas, on the Isle of Man. His father was an eminent divine in the Established Church of England, and it was his desire that the subject of this sketch should follow in his footsteps and take the pulpit, but as he gi'ew to manhood the young man's tastes diflered from his father's, aud he chose that other profession that is next of kiu to the clergy - the law. He completed his studies and at ouce turned his face to America, and at twenty years of age he landed in New Orleans and began the practice of his profession. He, however, did not remain there long, bat soon removed, coming directly to Southern Illinois. He landed at Shawneetown and opened an office, but not meeting with the success he desired, he removed to

Old Frankfort, Franklin County, and from thence to Mount Vernon. After a few years' residence at this place, he i-emoved to Metropolis, Massac County, and there remained for eight year.s. During his residence there, he passed through, perhaps, the most exciting scenes of his life.

It was during this period that the Regulators aud Flatheads inaugurated what has passed into history as the " Massac war. " Mr. Nelson was strongly identified with the law and order party, who were known as the " Flatheads." Exciting and active demonstrations were had by both sides, until at last the opposing factions met in battle line, and on the 7th day of December, 184:6, in front of Mr. Nelson's house, proceeded to tight it out. The Regulators finally won the day and the Flatheads were put to flight. Mr. Nelson made his escape by flat-boat to Cairo and thence to St. Louis, and then to Springfield. The Regulators after their victory held control of things for some months, and until, at the earnest entreaties of Mr. Nelson, Gov. French sent between 400 and 500 militia to the scene of the troubles. Mr. Nelson returned with them aud did all in his power to sustain the soldiers. In two weeks his table furnished 316 meals, and he fed and stabled 200 horses, for ^ which not 1 cent was ever paid to him or his family. This should receive the early attention of our State authorities, and restore to this family the long delayed justice. Mr. Nelson never resumed the practice in Metropolis, but left his desolated home, which had been reduced to ashes, and moved again to Mount Vernon, where he at once entered upon a large and remunerative practice. He soon reached a high standard in his profession. In 1862, amid the demoralizing influences of the late war, he removed to Centralia, where ho remained until his death, on the 19th day

Mr. Nelson was a man of more than ordinary intellect. He applied himself with much assiduity to his pi'ofession, and soon became widely and favorably known thi'oughout the southern part of the State. He was what might be termed a self-made man, and rose to prominence in his profession by his own exertions. He occupied such a position only as his own talents and moral worth commanded. He rose to distinction not only without the patronage of influential friends, but in opposition to a degree of prejudice which is encountered by every foreigner. His success was due to native talent and to the energy with which he devoted himself to his profession. His native energy of intellect, his legal erudition and his imbending integrity commanded respect and confidence wherever he was known.

Hon. S. F. Crews was boru in 1845, in "Wayne (bounty, 111., and came to Jefferson County in 1872 and formed a law partnership with George M. Haynes. In 1876, he was elected State's Attorney, and in 1882 was elected to the Legislature. Upon the adjournment of the Legislature, ilr. Crews removed to Chicago, where he is at present enjoying a reasonably good practice.

Of the present members of the Mount Vernon bar, we shall but briefly speak, leaving the histories of their triumphs and their glories to the writers who shall come after us, saying, however, in a general way that the bar of Jefferson County will compare f avora bly with that of any county in the southern part of the State.

law in Mount Vernon, attended at Ann Arbor, Mich., and was admitted in 1870. In 1872, he was elected State's Attorney and served four years. In 1877, he was elected to the Legislature.

C. A. Keller was bom November 24, 1851; read law, and was admitted in 1873. In 1877, he was elected County Judge, serving acceptably as such for four years. A more extended sketch of his career will be found in the biographical department of this vollune.

C. H. PattoQ was born May 9, 1834, came to Illinois in 185- , taught school, was elected County Clerk and admitted to the bar on March 21, 1862. For further particulars the reader is referred to otu- biographical department.

came to Moimt Vernon in 185- ; in 1864, was elected Judge of the Circuit Covirt and reelected in 1866. His life and histcry will also be found in the biographical department

James M. Pace was born in Mount Vernon on the 29th day of November, 1826, and is said to have been the first white male child born in the city. For a number of years he was County School Superintendent, and tipon the organization of the city government was elected the first Mayor. He was admitted in 1870.

Robert A. D. Wilbanks, born in 1846, was admitted in 1867; for twelve years was Clerk of the Supreme Court of this grand division ; is now Clerk of the Appellate Court.

There were and have been many other members of the bar of this county, among them Gen. R. F. Wingate, F. D. Preston, and others, of whom we have been unable to obtain sufficient data from which tu write them. Also Col. S. G. Hicks, whose history and life is fully given elsewhere in this volume.

POLITICAL HISTORY - BIRTH OF THE WHIG AND DEMOCRAT ORGANIZATIONS - PARTY STRIFE AND SCRAMBLE FOR OFFICE - JOEL PACE, FIRST CLERK OF THE COUNTY - POLITICIANS OF THE TIMES - ZADOK CASEY - HIS LIFE AND OFFICIAL SERVICES - GOV. ANDERSON - SKETCH OF HIS PUBLIC CAREER - NOAH JOHNSTON AND OTHER DISTINGUISHED CHARACTERS - SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES, ETC.

IN the early history of Jeflerson County, there was but little, if, indeed, any, party strife. The exciting events of the war of 1812, which had closed a few years prior to the organization of the county, had wiped out the old Federal party - a party that had bitterly opposed President Jeflierson and his official acts. The war measures of President Madison, and the dominant party in Congress were very generally, and even earnestly, supported by the people throughout the country. The Presidential election of 1824, the second after the formation of Jefferson County, was attended with unusual excitement, probably with more than any election that had ever taken place in the Republic, with the exception of the Presidential election of 1800, which resulted in the success of Mr. Jefferson laurels of New Orleans still blooming upon his brow; Henry Clay, the sage of Kentucky; John Quincy Adams, a born statesman, and William H. Crawford, of Georgia, all intellectual giants, truly. Each of these distinguished gentlemen had his friends, who supported their favorite candidate from personal preference and not from party predilection. None of them, however, had a majority of the votes in the electoral college, and under the Constitutional rule, upon the House of Representatives, for the first and the last time in the history of the country,*

*OriginaiIy, It was the law for the candidate receiving the highest n'lmberof Totesin the Electural f^oliegeto Ik. declared President. an 1 the one receiving the next highest to bo declared Vice President. In 1800, Thomas .letTen*on and Aaron Rnrr received the same number of votes, and thy question wont to the House of Representatives for its deciBion, where it was hotly contested by Burr but finally decided in favor of Jefferson. The law was afterward changed, and candiilates nominated for President and Vice President, which rule is still followed, and the election of IS'li is theonly cne in which the House of Representatives had to deride between the Presidential candidates atone, and make a President.

devolved the dutj- of making choice of President, each State, bj- its delegation in Congress, casting one vote. Gen. Jackson led Mr. Adams, in the Electoral College, by a small plurality; Mr. Crawford was the third on the list of candidates, and Mr. Clay, who was the hindmost man, was dropped from the canvass. Mr. Adams was chosen President by the casting vote of the State of Kentuck}-. Jlr. Clay was a member of the National House of Representatives, and its Speaker, and it was at once claimed by many of his political enemies, that it was through the great influence of Ohio, which State, as well as his own, Mr. Clay had carried in the Presidential contest, that the delegation from Kentuck}^ was induced to cast the vote of that State for Mr. Adams, an Eastern man, in preference to Gen. Jackson, a Western and Southern man. By that coup d'etat, Mr. Clay was instrumental in organizing political parties that survived the generation of people to which he belonged, and ruled in turn the destinies of the Republic for more than a quarter of a century.

In the new Cabinet, Mr. Clay was placed at the head of the State Department by Mr. Adams, which gave rise to the charge of '' bargain and sale " between the President and his chief Secretary', that threw the country into a blaze of excitement from one end to the other. At this time, when Henry Clay has been dead for more than thirty years, and his faults and errors have been enveloped in the mantle of charity, no one will presume or dare to question his patriotism or honesty; but the charge was persistently made bj' the partisans of Gen. Jackson, it greatly injured Mr. Clay in the public estimation, and contributed largely to the General's success in the Presidential race of 1828, and forever sealed Mr. Clay's own doom, so far as regarded the Presidency. At the Presidential election of 1828, party lines were closely drawn between Gen. Jackson and Mr. Adams, and the result of a hot and bitter contest was the triumphant election of the hero of New Orleans, both b}- the electoral and popular vote. At this time parties were known throughout the country as the Jackson and Anti-Jackson parties.

The gubernatorial election in Illinois, following this contest, presented a curious phase of the politics of the times. There were two tickets in the field for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, all professing strong Jacksonism, but really were what to-day would be termed, perhaps. Stalwarts and Half-breeds. Mr. Kinney was the stalwart candidate for Governor, or as he was called then, the " out and outer" Jackson candidate, while Zadok Casey was the candidate for Lieutenant Governor on the same ticket. John Reynolds was the " Half-breed" candidate for Governor, but claimed to be as good a Jackson man as Kinney; and associated with |him as a candidate for Lieutenant Governor was Rigdon B. Slocumb, of Wayne County. The peculiar feature of the election was, that Rej'nolds and Casey were elected, representing the two different wings of the Jackson party. And as an illustration of the great power and influence Casey ever wielded over his constituency, is the fact that he was the only stalwart candidate elected in the State in that contest. With but few changes in their platform of principles, the Jackson and Anti- Jackson eventually became the Whig and Democrat parties.

The scramble for the " loaves and fishes " of office in the earl}- period of the county's existence, compared with later years, was almost nothing. But few offices were sought for their emoluments, and much ofteuer then than now the office sought the man. The most lucrative offices were filled by appointment, and not by popular vote, as they are now. It was not for years after the formation of the county that local offices were made elective, and it is even now a question for discussion, whether the latter is the best policy. In most cases, the offices were filled by faithful and competent men. The appointing power conferred bj' the Legislature upon the Commissioners and the courts, although anti-Republican in principle, seems to be. judging from the experience of the past, the best calculated to secure efficienc}' and competency in office. Experience has shown pretty conclusively that the less frequentljchanges are made the better it is for the public service, notwithstanding the present political war-cry of " turn the rascals out." Chancellor Kent has said that the great danger to this country is " the too frequent recurrence to popular election." The early records of the county show, under the appointing power, but few changes. From the organization of the county in 1819 to 1837, the duties of both County and Circuit Clerk were laithfuUy performed by Joel Pace, an excellent and competent man. It is not inappropriate in this connection to devote a few words to the county's first Clerk.

Joel Pace was born in Virginia, and his father, Joel Pace, Sr., emigrated to Kentucky, locating in Woodford County. ^ On reaching manhood, young Joel went to Frankfort, Kj-., where he engaged to work for one Thomas Long. The latter gentleman had a brother-in-law - Owen Riley - who was a merchant in Vincennes, Ind., and once when on his way to Philadelphia for goods, Riley stopped at Frankfort and asked Long to refer him to a trusty young man who would do for a salesman. He recommended Joel Pace, and Riley employed him, and sent him with a stock of goods to Vincennes. Here he remained for a year or two, when Riley had a stock of goods damaged by the sinking of a boat, and sent Pace to sell them out as best he ' could at Shawneetown. But Riley soon aban- ; doned himself to drink, and Joel left him, and was employed by Peoples & Kirkpatrick. Judge Brown was then living at Shawneetown, and he gave Joe! Pace the appointment of Circuit Clerk for Jefferson County, and procured for him also the offices of Recorder and Notary

Public. So he had three offices when he came to the county in the spring of 1819, and was soon appointed to a fourth. Yet there was so little business that he found time to attend to them all, and besides to teaeh a school - the first ever taught in the count}-. Such was the man who held one, or rather several, of the most important offices of the county, and for almost twenty jears faithfull}' discharged his official duties. The early officers of the county were faithful and efficient, but none of them wore the official harness so long without rest as did Mr. Pace. This, however, is not intended as a reflection upon those who have held office under the elective system ; for truly Jefferson has been favored in the official integrity of its public servants in late years, as well as in the earl}' period of its existence, as that pattern of old fidelity, Mr. Bogan, so eminently proves, with its man}' other true and faithful officers.

It was during the memorable campaign of 1840 that the ''Liberty party" was organized and a ticket for President and Vice President was nominated. For several years previous to this, the anti-slavery agitation had been making slowly, but uumistakingly, its deep impressions upon the public mind, and more especially the minds of the religious portion of the people North and East, but it was not until about this period that the friends of the cause of emancipation proposed political action. James G. Birney, a former slave-holder of Kentucky, but then a resident of Michigan, was placed at the head of the ticket, and Thomas Morris, of Ohio, was placed second. This ticket had but little popularity so far west as Illinois, and was scarcely heard of in the southern part of the State. The small vote polled for the ticket throughout the country was taken principally from the Whig party. Four years later, the vote of the party was largely increased. This organization was believed by many of its friends, and doul)tless was, premature and misguided, but no party was ever actuated by loftier or purer motives. The anti-slavery movement, at that time, was not larger than the cloud the Hebrew prophet saw, that so rapidl}' spread over the whole heavens and filled the earth with refreshing showers. At that time, no one expected to live to see the institution of negro slaverj- in America abolished, but in less than the period allotted bj' Providence to a generation of men, by an amendment to the Federal Constitution, slavery, and involuntary servitude of every species, in all the States and Territories belonging to the American Union, was forever abolished.